Politicians have been asked to restrain themselves in their activities and utterances over the April 5, 2018 robbery attacks in Offa, the headquarters of Offa local government area of Kwara State.
Making the call in Ilorin over the weekend, the former Chairperson, Transition Implementation Committee (TIC) in Offa local government, Mrs. Bolaji Iyabo Ibiyeye-Adisa, urged indigenes of the community not to be swayed by political statements especially by the likes of Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, which sets aside the age-long commitment to equity and fairness by Offa people.

She equally urged them not to allow politicians from outside the community who have not been helpful to them in the past to come and divide them at the eve of a general election, saying they should rather stay with the leader of the state, Dr. Bukola Saraki who has been a constant factor in the development and welfare of the community and the state at large.

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Therefore, it behoves all indigenes of Offa to be fair, truthful, equitable and just in all that we do. We shouldn’t allow any outsider or even fellow indigenes under the guise of liberating us by playing dirty politics with a sad and unfortunate incident, pitch us against ourselves in order to achieve their own selfish and personal agenda. Offa people are quite enlightened and needs no form of liberation whatsoever.

“I was once an administrator of the local government, thus, I can say unequivocally that I have an in-depth knowledge of the community, the people and the local politics. As a patriotic daughter of Offa, for me, the interest of the community comes first. The politicization of the Offa robbery incident must stop. We should allow the law determine who is guilty or not.

“The average Offa man/woman I grew up to know is highly intelligent and I believe will not be easily swayed or brainwashed by politicians wanting to score cheap political points through character assassination into believing that a particular political leader was the mastermind.

“From an objective perspective, the robbery incident looks more like a security lapse on the part of our security agents. It is noteworthy that Offa in the past had witnessed series of attack on banks. What did we learn from those attacks and what security measures were put in place to ensure that such incidents are prevented from reoccurring? During the recent robbery incident, though, the police station was attacked, there is a SARS unit in Offa that should have risen to the challenge of confronting the hoodlums, but the SARS operatives were nowhere to be found when they were desperately needed and nobody is asking questions rather, we are busy playing politics with the whole incident.

“This brings to mind a Yoruba adage that says “bi Iku Ile o ba pani, ti ode o le pani”(which literally means that such a horrendous incident wouldn’t have happened without the connivance/involvement of an insider). It’s high time we stopped playing politics with a matter as sensitive as armed robbery.

“The statement made by the minister of information and culture at the just concluded Ijakadi Offa festival, a purely cultural event devoid of politics, in respect of the robbery incident and who gave what sum of money or not was a careless statement and highly uncalled for. He is neither from Offa nor was he at the palace of the Olofa when the senate president paid a condolence visit to Offa after the robbery. What we should rather ask him is what assistance has he (the minister) ever rendered to the community before or after the incident. He and his co conspirators should please leave Offa out of their politricks.

“It is pertinent to reiterate that Offa remains part of Kwara state and not an extension of another state. We do not want Kwara to be like some states under the control of the opposition because obtaining huge loans is the only style of governance they understand. I’ll enjoin every Kwaran of character, goodwill and conscience to visit the website of the debt management office(DMO) and make an analysis of the debt profile of each state, viz a viz the earning capacity(IGR and statutory allocation) spending pattern and the infrastructure on ground in each state for a proper understanding of the viability and sustainability or otherwise of each state. Kwara is actually not doing badly.

“If there are issues that leaves much to be desired, let’s address the issues with the person that is one of us, has been with us, knows our wants and needs and is ever ready to do it the way we want it done.

“I make bold to say that members of the opposition in Kwara are all strange bed fellows. The only affinity they have for one another is the hatred for Saraki and not the development of the state. How come they haven’t come up with a manifesto of how they intend to further develop Kwara apart from just chanting “enough is enough”. They have reduced governance to child’s play whereby you tell your play mate he’s had enough and should let you have your turn. We shouldn’t be deceived by their antics.

“My Offa brothers in the opposition should tread softly and stop misinforming members of the public either via the print or electronic media. Such behaviour is clearly a departure from the tenets of our progenitor, the great Olalomi Olofagangan. Enough of the politics of treachery and defamation. We should always remember that power is transient, belongs to God and He gives it to whom He pleases. The slandering of the senate president has to stop.”